Salisbury officials have declared a “parking holiday” for the downtown area as the city makes the transition from mechanical parking meters to new pay stations.

Parking in metered spaces will be free from Wednesday, Nov. 8, to Sunday, Nov. 26, while the old meters are replaced, Mayor Jake Day said in a Tuesday morning news conference.

Day took a sledge hammer to one of the old parking meters in a lot opposite Acorn Market to begin the process.

“The parking holiday is a way of thanking citizens for bringing their business downtown during the holiday shopping season,” Day said. “It’s also a way for us to offer a down period for folks to become acquainted with the new system.”

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Salisbury Mayor Jake Day strikes an old parking meter with a sledge hammer during a press conference Downtown on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. (Photo11: Staff photo by Ralph Musthaler)

The downtown meters will all be tagged with a "This one's on us" label.

Last week, the city began installing six stations that will replace 106 parking meters in four parking lots and on two streets.

Drivers input their license plate number and then pay for parking either at one of the stations or by downloading a mobile app to their phones.

The first stations are being installed by Parkeon Inc., a French company which has partners in the U.S.

The company’s mobile app, Whoosh!, is available to iPhone and Android users. It allows drivers to extend their time in local businesses by paying remotely instead of running outside to move their car or add more coins to a meter.

“Users can register online so that they can manage their payments directly from their mobile phones,” according to Parkeon’s website.

The first stations are going on Market and Church streets and in four city parking lots: Lot 4 near Roadie Joe’s, Lots 11 and 12 next to Market Street Inn and Lot 15 opposite Acorn Market.

The second phase of the installatons in Salisbury will be from December to April when parking stations will be placed on East Main Street which is undergoing a major project that includes the replacement of 100-year-old water and sewer mains, as well as high-speed internet lines and streetscape improvements.

The parking stations will be installed in those blocks once the new sidewalks are installed, Day said.

The final group of parking stations will be on West Main and North Division streets, which also are slated for street improvements at a later date.